Vince Gill vs. Blake Shelton: Country’s Top Vocalist of 2016?

A country legend takes on one of the format's biggest star vocalists in this final Round 1 matchup to decide Country's Top Vocalist of 2016.

Vince Gill's voice and music are timeless. Instantly you recognize his voice on the radio, but it's more than just his sound. It's the emotion. It's the patience he brings to even his most rocking country hits. Few are better, and very, very few have a stronger high-end than Gill. We're just thankful he released new music in 2016 so we could include him in this contest.

Blake Shelton cracks jokes, spends too much time on Twitter and is prone to a libation after hours, but his fans know him as one of the finest vocalist in the format. Listen to "She Wouldn't Be Gone" to hear a top example, but we expect more will come from a new album called If I'm Honest, set for a May 20 release.

Vote for either one, once every hour until this Round 1 poll closes on March 13, 2016 at 11:59PM ET. The winner will move on to face either Chris Young or Charles Kelley in a Round 2 matchup. At the end of three weeks, the top male vocalist will square off against the fan-decided top female vocalist to decided country’s top vocalist of 2016. All 16 artists were chosen from the most active singers of 2016.